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Technology

Digital Disruption or Dipstick-in-a-Diaper?

July 11, 2013 By Bryan Vartabedian · Reading Time: < 1 minutes

The quantification of the child is the next frontier in quantified self.  But sometimes what we want to believe is more important than what’s real.

Pixie Scientific, A NYC based startup has embedded a patch into the diaper for the detection of UTI and dehydration.  The in-diaper patch changes color depending upon the presence of bacteria and protein.  The parent shoots an image and the application identifies color change alerting the parent of impending problems.

My favorite feature: The ‘data’ can be amassed and uploaded to your pediatrician.  But you might want to ask her first.  Do the math:  Dozens of infants in a busy practice times 7 wet diapers a day.  Oiy.

The New York Times grabbed on calling it ‘the digital diaper.’  Then every breathing soul in the social infosphere jumped on as a means of showcasing just how dramatically the world is changing.   Stand back people.  The future is now.

Perhaps I missed something.  But isn’t this a mid 20th century urine dipstick dressed up for the digital party?  I’m not even sure it’s dressed appropriately.  Where’s the digital?

I have my eye on the future and I’m ready for the tools to quantify my patients.  But let’s create technology that addresses a problem, not market for problems that fit our technology.

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Tagged With: quantified self

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Bryan Vartabedian, MD

Bryan Vartabedian, MD
Bryan Vartabedian is the Chief Pediatrics Officer at Texas Children’s Hospital North Austin and one of health care’s influential
voices on technology & medicine.
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